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Story
March 26, 1948
The Daily Alaska Empire
Juneau, Juneau County, Alaska
What is this article about?
Newspaper article promoting the Nenana, Alaska ice breakup guessing contest, offering historical breakup dates from 1917-1947, popular guess dates, common errors in entries, and a 1937 anecdote about winner Marvin E. 'Buster' Anderson claiming a $75,000 prize.
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GUESSING ON ICE MOVEMENT, NENANA: A POPULAR SPORT
With April 3 at midnight, the last day on which to guess when the Nenana ice breaks up, the Empire would like to offer last minute information to the local brownbenders.
First, past records indicate that since founding in 1917, the most popular date for the ice move has been May 11, which has four times been the date. Other dates to be considered, April 30 and May 3, have been three-times correct.
However, ice breaking dates have ranged from mid-April to mid-May, with last year's breakup coming on May 3.
Another item to be considered is the care in making guesses.
In a single year of the past, judges have been faced with 40 guesses marked April 31, others with no indication of a.m. or p.m., 24 without a month designation, 38 failing to designate any time, 15 without a day, and then there were those who submitted complete blanks.
Most outstanding, and almost fatal, of the officials' headaches occurred in 1937 when the award was valued at $75,000 with no one guessing the right minute. A card with nothing more than "Buster" on the face, was the next closest entry with 8:03 p.m. It was then up to Marvin E. "Buster" Anderson to convince judges that he was "the" Buster of all Alaskan Busters. He succeeded, but only after several times considering a short stay in the psychopathic ward.
The most popular dates for guessing in the past have been April 30 and May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, which were the choices of approximately 59,000 persons in 1946. But disregarding carefully compiled statistics and tossing anything the meteorologist might have said to the wind, date selections have ranged from February 7 to November 17. Who can say, someday such a hunch might be worth $3,697 to some fortunate individual and enrich the pockets of the internal revenue bureau by the remaining hundred thousand or so.
And if you failed to paste it in your hat as suggested last May 3, the list below may be of some assistance as to when the ice may break:
1917-April 30 11:30 a.m.
1918-May 11 9:33 a.m.
1919 May 3 2:33 p.m.
1920-May 11 10:46 a.m.
1921-May 11 6:42 a.m.
1922-May 12 1:20 p.m.
1923-May 9 2:00 p.m.
1924-May 11 3:10 p.m.
1925-May 7 6:32 p.m.
1926-April 26 4:03 p.m.
1927-May 13 5:42 a.m.
1928-May 6 4:25 p.m.
1929-May 5 3:41 p.m.
1930-May 8 7:03 p.m.
1931-May 10 9:23 a.m.
1932-May 1 10:15 a.m.
1933-May 8 7:20 p.m.
1934-April 30 2:07 p.m.
1935-May 15 1:32 p.m.
1936-April 30 12:58 p.m.
1937-May 12 8:04 p.m.
1938-May 6 8:14 p.m.
1939-April 29 1:26 p.m.
1940-April 20 3:27 p.m.
1941-May 3 1:50 a.m.
1942-April 30 1:28 p.m.
1943-April 28 7:22 p.m.
1944-May 4 2:08 p.m.
1945-May 16 9:41 a.m.
1946-May 5 4:40 p.m.
1947-May 3 5:53 p.m.
With April 3 at midnight, the last day on which to guess when the Nenana ice breaks up, the Empire would like to offer last minute information to the local brownbenders.
First, past records indicate that since founding in 1917, the most popular date for the ice move has been May 11, which has four times been the date. Other dates to be considered, April 30 and May 3, have been three-times correct.
However, ice breaking dates have ranged from mid-April to mid-May, with last year's breakup coming on May 3.
Another item to be considered is the care in making guesses.
In a single year of the past, judges have been faced with 40 guesses marked April 31, others with no indication of a.m. or p.m., 24 without a month designation, 38 failing to designate any time, 15 without a day, and then there were those who submitted complete blanks.
Most outstanding, and almost fatal, of the officials' headaches occurred in 1937 when the award was valued at $75,000 with no one guessing the right minute. A card with nothing more than "Buster" on the face, was the next closest entry with 8:03 p.m. It was then up to Marvin E. "Buster" Anderson to convince judges that he was "the" Buster of all Alaskan Busters. He succeeded, but only after several times considering a short stay in the psychopathic ward.
The most popular dates for guessing in the past have been April 30 and May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, which were the choices of approximately 59,000 persons in 1946. But disregarding carefully compiled statistics and tossing anything the meteorologist might have said to the wind, date selections have ranged from February 7 to November 17. Who can say, someday such a hunch might be worth $3,697 to some fortunate individual and enrich the pockets of the internal revenue bureau by the remaining hundred thousand or so.
And if you failed to paste it in your hat as suggested last May 3, the list below may be of some assistance as to when the ice may break:
1917-April 30 11:30 a.m.
1918-May 11 9:33 a.m.
1919 May 3 2:33 p.m.
1920-May 11 10:46 a.m.
1921-May 11 6:42 a.m.
1922-May 12 1:20 p.m.
1923-May 9 2:00 p.m.
1924-May 11 3:10 p.m.
1925-May 7 6:32 p.m.
1926-April 26 4:03 p.m.
1927-May 13 5:42 a.m.
1928-May 6 4:25 p.m.
1929-May 5 3:41 p.m.
1930-May 8 7:03 p.m.
1931-May 10 9:23 a.m.
1932-May 1 10:15 a.m.
1933-May 8 7:20 p.m.
1934-April 30 2:07 p.m.
1935-May 15 1:32 p.m.
1936-April 30 12:58 p.m.
1937-May 12 8:04 p.m.
1938-May 6 8:14 p.m.
1939-April 29 1:26 p.m.
1940-April 20 3:27 p.m.
1941-May 3 1:50 a.m.
1942-April 30 1:28 p.m.
1943-April 28 7:22 p.m.
1944-May 4 2:08 p.m.
1945-May 16 9:41 a.m.
1946-May 5 4:40 p.m.
1947-May 3 5:53 p.m.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Historical Event
What themes does it cover?
Nature
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Nenana Ice Guess
Ice Breakup
Historical Dates
Guessing Contest
Alaska Tradition
What entities or persons were involved?
Marvin E. "Buster" Anderson
Where did it happen?
Nenana
Story Details
Key Persons
Marvin E. "Buster" Anderson
Location
Nenana
Event Date
Since 1917
Story Details
Description of the annual Nenana ice breakup guessing contest founded in 1917, with historical breakup dates, popular guessing patterns, common entry errors, a 1937 incident where Anderson won $75,000 with a minimal entry, and tips for accurate guessing.